There are many types of machines in the prior art that fry food products. These machines typically have a mixing chamber for receiving dehydrated food product which is mixed with water to form a dough mixture, then shaped into pieces of predetermined size and fried in oil.
A known frying machine is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,091. This system has a mixing chamber for receiving a pre-measured amount of dehydrated food product from a storage area, and rehydrating and solidifying the same, and a piston for compressing the rehydrated food product and forcing it through an orifaced die plate to form individual pieces. The pieces are then dropped into a hot oil chamber and fried. A dibber system is provided for separating the fries during the frying process. The fries are then drained and served in a container for the customer.
This prior art system, however, has some shortcomings. For example, the extruder assembly is a lead screw design that is mounted in a piston chamber. The piston chamber is mounted to an upper plate attached to the machine housing. After repeated use of the frying machine, the extrusion assembly becomes disaligned due to expansion and contraction of the connected extruder assembly components, as a result of the extreme heat in the machine. Because the piston assembly is firmly attached to an upper shelf, there is no room for such expansion and contraction of the components. Once misaligned, the unit typically malfunctions because the sensors do not line up properly, thus causing misreadings. Under such conditions, the mechanical lead screws cramp down and lose power. For example, the extruder assembly would start to jam during the compression and extrusion processes. Further, the mounting of the extruder and dibber assemblies to the upper plate of the machine makes cleaning very difficult and burdensome, since these assemblies can not easily be removed from the machine. The machine of U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,091 also discloses belts and pulleys to drive the extruder, carousel and dibber assemblies. Therefore, such belts and pulleys must be removed during cleaning. In addition, the belts and pulleys do not reliably produce consistent movement in the components due to general wear and tear resulting from excessive heat, such wear also causing slippage of such belts and pulleys off-track. Such belts have to be replaced often to approach consistent and reliable operation.
The control and electrical system of the machine described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,091, i.e. the CT-100, also has disadvantages. This machine has several sensors which have shown susceptible to failure. Further, the close proximity of the electronics to the motor introduces substantial background "noise" which may cause inaccurate sensor readings, etc.. The machine also has a lot of exposed wiring, potentially creating a safety concern to machine operators.
What is needed is a more user-friendly frying machine that has enhanced reliability and repeatability. Further, a machine is needed that allows a layperson to conveniently clean the same.